More than a month after the start of the disbursement of reconstruction aid to those affected by the floods in the South-East, those concerned have not yet been able to start the process of rehabilitating and rebuilding their partially or totally collapsed homes due to the "September disaster"; while some of them only received the building designs this week, others are still waiting "impatiently" for these designs, especially since the place where they are being sheltered "does not protect against the harsh winter cold in the Anti-Atlas".
Although those affected in the Tata province acknowledge the efforts of the local and provincial authorities to speed up the pace of settling their situation, they note "the existence of a worrying delay in the delivery of plots belonging to the tribal lands on which the collapsed houses will be rebuilt, as well as in receiving the building designs, to which those affected are expected to contribute symbolic amounts".
On the other hand, those concerned in the same province revealed that "specifically today, building designs were granted to some of those affected, noting that the delay in this process is due to the large number of designs that the assigned engineer must prepare", confirming that the pace of settling their situation is "good" and that "no difficulties are expected after starting the reconstruction process; given the availability of its materials at the same prices as in normal circumstances, and the existence of a road connection that allows these materials to arrive without difficulty".
In this context, a victim from the Douar of Tixelt in the Tata province, who preferred to remain anonymous, stated that "all those affected in the Douar received reconstruction aid; however, none of them were able to start the process of rebuilding their house, because they have not yet received their plots of land, even though the authorities had identified about a month ago the tribal land where these plots will be granted, and because they have not yet received the building designs".
The same victim explained, in a statement to Hespress, that "the local and elected authority officials in the region, when asked about the reason for the delay in delivering the plots and building designs, inform those affected that they are in the process of completing the necessary administrative documents for this and are waiting for the arrival of the building designs from the prefecture", revealing that "those concerned will not pay the real prices for the building designs; but they are obligated to pay part of them, as the authorities have informed them".
The same interviewee stressed that "almost periodically, the affected women communicate with the relevant authorities; however, there is 'nothing' yet", as he put it, adding that "therefore, those affected have not yet started purchasing building materials with the reconstruction aid money they received".
He continued: "This situation forced those affected in the Douar (five families in total) to remain in the school that was allocated to shelter them", pointing to "their suffering there due to the intensification of the harsh cold, which is deepened for those who sleep in 'semi-open' spaces in practical terms, such as the school canteen".
On the other hand, Mohamed Ait Balla, a community activist in the Douar of Kasbah, Tissint commune, Tata province, revealed "the orientation of those affected in the Douar to sign the necessary administrative documents to obtain their house building designs, after the engineer had visited the plots on which they will be built, and which were distributed to them by the tribal groups", stressing that "what delayed the start of reconstruction in the Douar is that the engineer was required to prepare designs for up to 35 people, representing those affected in the Douar".
Ait Balla explained, in a statement to Hespress, that "13 people out of 35 affected in the Douar received their building designs, and they are in the process of receiving their permits from the relevant authorities in order to start rebuilding and rehabilitating their homes".
The community activist in the Douar of Kasbah, Tissint commune, Tata province, added that "the assigned engineer will begin the process of preparing the remaining building designs, especially since all those affected have received the reconstruction aid".
Mohamed Ait Balla confirmed that "those affected will pay a symbolic price for the building designs; the engineer has expenses and taxes after all, provided that the commune will also contribute symbolic prices in this context".
The same speaker mentioned that "indeed, none of those affected have started rebuilding their house, but the pace at which the process of settling their situations is going so far is promising and good", ruling out that "they will face any difficulties during the reconstruction process, since the prices of building materials are stable at their previous levels, and the roads necessary to deliver them from the Tata centre are available".
He pointed out that "the plots that were distributed to those affected in order to rehabilitate and build their homes on them are far from the streams and valleys, in order for the authorities to avoid them facing another disaster in case the region is exposed to floods similar to those that occurred last September".
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